Elena had identified civil fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and potential criminal embezzlement charges. All I needed was for Vivian to make one more move. She made the biggest one of her life.
Vivian's daughter, Kelsey, was getting married in June. Kelsey was 28, worked in pharmaceutical sales, and was marrying Todd Ashworth III, whose father was a state senator and whose mother sat on the board of the North Carolina Symphony. The wedding was budgeted at $220,000. The ceremony would be at St.
Paul's Episcopal in Beaufort. The reception would be at Harbor Point on the dock on the waterfront under a white tent with crystal chandeliers and imported peonies.
Vivian's daughter, Kelsey, had been engaged since Christmas. The news arrived via a mass email from Vivian, not a personal announcement, but an official HOA communication sent from the board's email address, as if her daughter's engagement were a community policy update. The email included a photograph of the ring, a 2-carat cushion-cut diamond that must have cost more than Dave Espinoza's entire boat, and a paragraph informing residents that the community should expect increased activity at the marina in preparation for the Harcourt-Ashworth wedding celebration this June.
Vivian announced the wedding plans at the March board meeting with the energy of a woman unveiling a national monument. The marina and community dock will be reserved for a private family event from June 14th through June 16th. All vessels must be relocated to temporary moorings in Taylor's Creek during the event period. The board will coordinate mooring assignments.
Three days. She was closing the entire marina for three days, displacing 32 boats for her daughter's wedding. I raised my hand. Vivian, the CC&Rs require 30 days written notice and a 2/3 homeowner vote to close common facilities for private use.
This has been discussed and approved by the board. The board is three people, two of whom are in this room. That's not a homeowner vote. The board has the authority to manage community facilities for special events.
It's in the bylaws. Which bylaw? She shuffled papers. I'll have the management company send you the reference.
No reference ever came because no such bylaw existed.
I canceled the marina closure through Elena. She filed an injunction citing the lack of a homeowner vote. The county court granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting the HOA from closing the marina without proper authorization. Vivian was furious.
She called me at 9:00 p.m. the night the order was served. I let it go to voicemail. The message was 37 seconds of controlled rage disguised as politeness. Jack, this is unnecessarily adversarial.
The wedding is a community celebration. I expected more neighborly cooperation from someone who claims to value this community. I hope you'll reconsider your position before this becomes something neither of us can take back. I saved the voicemail.
It's exhibit 31.
On June 1st, I drove to Wilmington to visit Sarah's parents. June 3rd was the anniversary of Sarah's death, and every year I spent it with her mother and father, Ruth and Gene, at the cemetery in Wilmington. We'd bring flowers, sit on the bench Gene had installed beside the headstone, and talk about Sarah like she was still in the next room. Ruth always brought sweet tea.
Gene always wore the tie Sarah gave him for Father's Day 2019. I stayed 3 days. Before I left, I told my neighbor Tom Choi to keep an eye on the Sarah Grace. If anything looks wrong, call me.
Tom called on June 2nd at 4:00 in the afternoon. Jack, you need to get down here. What's happening? They're on your boat.
Four guys in khakis and polo shirts are carrying flower arrangements onto the Sarah Grace. There's a woman directing them. She's telling them to remove the fishing rods and cover the name. Vivian is on the dock giving orders into a headset.
There are rental chairs stacked at the end of the pier. A caterer's van is parked in the fire lane. Jack, I think they're setting up the wedding on your boat. My blood went cold.
Not hot. Cold. The kind of cold that comes when you've spent 26 years in the Coast Guard and you know exactly what just happened. Tom, are they covering the Coast Guard decals?
They already did. Both sides. White fabric panels with flower garlands. The auxiliary pennants on the mast.
Gone. There's a white banner up there now. Says Kelsey and Todd in gold letters. The documentation number on the transom.
Covered. The whole transom is wrapped in some kind of white fabric with the wedding monogram. Don't say anything to anyone. Don't confront them.
Take pictures of everything and stay out of the way. I'm making a call. I hung up and stood in Ruth's kitchen for 10 seconds breathing. Sarah's mother was at the table arranging flowers.
Sarah's father was reading the newspaper. The kitchen smelled like cinnamon and coffee and 20 years of Sunday mornings.